Friday, August 12, 2011

“Welcome back to the concrete jungle of New York, the city that never sleeps.” – I said to myself.

On me: Shirt: Roberto Cavalli; Shorts:

American Apparel;

Bag: Unknown label purchased in Japan; Shoes: Louis Vuitton

Like many of my previous trips, I tried to coordinate as many activities as I can within a short amount of time. One of the things I did in New York City was to visit the Alexander McQueen [Savage Beauty] exhibition at the Metropolitan (Met) Museum

This was only a very very small fraction of the line.

Andy and I went on the last day of the exhibition: BAD IDEA!! We literally waited 2.5 hours outside the museum in the heat and more than 3 hrs inside the complex before entering the actual showcase. 6 hrs was a long wait; it was long enough to make friends with strangers who stood in line with us.

Yay! We made it…to the museum entrance…only if we knew there is a longer wait inside!

Thank God at least we had signs informing us the approximate wait-time.

It was totally worth it though. Alexander McQueen was a true talent. To respect the museum and his work, I did not capture any images for my blog. However, the impression I gained from this experience was that McQueen work towards pushing boundaries and breaking rules. I felt his work expressed an elegant form of sadistic and violent emotions. The name [Savage Beauty] sumarized the overall exhibition well.

Photo Courtesy: http://imsoboring.com/

The biggest surprise at the exhibition closing night was seeing Vogue magazine chief editor Anna Wintour. For those who are unfamiliar with her, watch the reality film: September Issue. Many people suggested that the character Miranda Priestly played by actress Meryl Streep in the film The Devil Wears Prada was a portrayal of Ms. Wintour. She and along with Andrew Bolton, the Curator at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, were doing 300 [Savage Beauty] book signings at the Met. Seeing her gave me an interesting story to talk about in this New York trip. She was wearing shades and a red outfit. As soon as I walked up to her, she smiled and greeted:

AW: [Hello]

BV:[Hi, nice to meet you]

AW: [I love your hair]

BV: [Thanks! It was a lovely show]

AW: [I am glad you enjoyed it]

BV: [Yes, I did. I flew all the way here to see it]

AW: [Really? You came all the way here for this? What is your name? Do you want me to sign and personalize your book?]

BV: [Yes. My name is Vincent]

AW: [How do you spell it?] (uhh..I think she heard something else…)

BV: [umm….V-I-N-C]

Then she wrote “B-I-N-S”

BV: [No no no no, it’s V, not B]

Then she made a big “sigh” and paused, as though she was disappointed with the mistake. I am guessing her assistants standing nearby were trying to ease the situation with smiles: “Oh…It’s Vincent. just VINCENT”

Ms. Wintour didn’t bother to change it, and left the mistake as is, and signed: "For Bincent, Anna Wintour".

Finally, she made a joke:

AW: [Well, that’s a totally funny way to spell Vincent]

Everyone giggled with her "cold" humour, but I felt nothing. I smiled and said [Thank you.]

Andrew Bolton also signed my book. He asked if I was a designer, and I said "no".

Ms Wintour and Mr. Bolton were both very nice, and asked if the visitors enjoyed the exhibition.

[Savage Beauty] Alexander McQueen book signings

I could not believe we arrived at the Met at 2:30pm that day but left around 9:00pm. INSANE! I heard the Alexander McQueen exhibition was one of top ten most popular exhibitions in the history of the Met Museum. A New Yorker told me that even the Chanel show and several other fashion designers' exhibition were not as crowded as this.

Streets of NYC

After that chaotic night, the following day we decided to just chill around the city. We went around Chinatown, Soho and Chelsea area during the day.

Soho district

At night, we enjoyed ourselves in Time Square. We also enjoyed some live performances by theatrical broadway singer/performer Cortney Wolfson at a local lounge.

Time Square at night

Cortney Wolfson live performance

It was a great start of a New York trip; experiencing the energy of the city, the culture and meeting new people.